The Oregon defense was sweating. It had to protect its slim three-point lead.
The Oregon State offense was driving. Beavers quarterback Jonathan Smith had just completed a 17-yard pass to wide receiver Shawn Kintner and only needed to go 40 more yards to reach the end zone.
The score was 13-10, Ducks, with just 1:14 to play in the game.
Reser Stadium was in a frenzy. ABC play-by-play-man Keith Jackson’s excitement was clearly noticeable during his telecast.
“That’s the kind of defensive coverage that will make the defensive coordinators search the ‘want ads’ come Sunday morning,” Jackson said of the Ducks’ “D.”
Smith accepted the shotgun snap and rolled left on a second-and-six. He saw a receiver wide open down the left side of the field and gunslinged it. It appeared as though the pass would be complete, but of nowhere came Oregon linebacker Garrett Sabol.
Sabol reached up and snagged the pass near the 10-yard line for the interception — his second of the game. The turnover clinched Oregon’s dramatic, come-from-behind 13-10 victory against the Beavers in the Civil War.
The Ducks celebrated on the field as the Beavers shook their hands and walked off with their heads down. The 2001 Rose Bowl berth was Oregon’s to treasure.
Think I’m making this up? It really happened — on a video game.
As part of rivalry week, Sony PlayStation and 989 Sports have distributed free copies of Sony PlayStation’s newest game, “NCAA GameBreaker 2001,” to college sports editors at schools that are involved in heated contests this weekend.
In exchange for the free game, I was to simulate the action ahead of time and share the results. Well, because I’ve lost all confidence in my video-game skills since Nintendo and Sega became “un-cool,” I decided to leave it up to the computer to dictate the fate of the 104th Civil War.
So it was with half-hearted seriousness that my roommate and I actually sat and watched Oregon battle Oregon State in Corvallis — albeit in a video game.
The Ducks sure didn’t start out well, as quarterback Joey Harrington threw two interceptions of his own on Oregon’s first two possessions. The first turnover didn’t hurt Oregon, but the second one did, as Beaver tailback Ken Simonton made the Ducks pay when he scampered in for a 34-yard touchdown run.
The Ducks would convert a Josh Frankel field goal at the end of the first half to cut the lead to 7-3 at halftime. Things didn’t start out so well for Oregon in the third quarter, either, as Smith completed a 64-yard pass to T.J. Houshmandzadeh. But the defense stepped it up when it counted and forced a three-and-out, setting up a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Cesca.
With the score now 10-3, Oregon State, I thought about just turning the game off and playing it myself, but my roommate insisted that I let this one game decide everything. Things looked bleak for the Ducks until the 2:53 mark of the fourth quarter, when Harrington found tight end LaCorey Collins in the end zone for an 18-yard score to tie the game.
Then, on the Beavers’ next drive, Sabol intercepted Smith’s first pass, leading to a Frankel field goal for the final 13-10 margin.
Of course, Oregon State had one last chance, but Sabol’s aforementioned second pick did the trick.
Advantage, Oregon. And yes, I would have written this even if the Beavers had won.
So there you go. Now that we know the outcome, whaddya say we go see what’s playing in the movie theaters Saturday, or better yet, let’s just sleep through the whole thing …
Nah!